Chapter 270: The Proper Use of Familiars

The dark sky above was still disturbed by the sword energy, with clouds swirling chaotically.

In the restless wind, Qing Ji stood with one hand holding his sword behind him, the other supporting his chin. After a long contemplation, he nodded at Lu Yibei, “Very good, granddaughter-in-law, you have about thirty percent of my talent from back in the day. I’m quite pleased.”

“Such a pity though…”

As he spoke, his gaze gradually lowered, resting on Lu Yibei’s abdomen, a thoughtful expression crossing his face.

“Uh, could you please say what you need to without staring at my stomach?” Lu Yibei said weakly.

“Uh… sorry.” Qing Ji scratched the back of his head, looking a bit lost. “I just suddenly thought, with your intelligence and excellent potential, if my unfortunate great-grandson were still alive, the offspring you two would have would surely be exceptional. I got a bit lost in thought.”

“……”

Lu Yibei was silent for a moment, deciding to stick to her story. She stood up, patted Qing Ji’s shoulder, and said, “These things happen, no one wants them. How about I make you something to eat?”

“No need, I’m just a remnant image now, unable to enjoy earthly flavors.” Qing Ji shook his head. “Never mind, I’ll demonstrate ‘The Diagram of the Gentleman Sword of Taihe’ for you again.”

With that, he lightly tapped the ground with his toes, stepping into the air, merging with the wind and clouds at the horizon with his sharp sword energy.

Lu Yibei gazed at the sky, her eyes deepening.

She knew well that Qing Ji’s swordsmanship was profound. Even if she memorized it roughly, it would take a long time to master it completely. Ideally, Qing Ji would teach her step by step from the basics until she fully learned it.

But she didn’t have that much time.

When she obtained the ancient sword and arrived near the Floral Sunshine Resort Hotel, it was already past 4:40 a.m. By the time Qing Ji began demonstrating the swordsmanship, more than an hour had passed.

If she delayed any longer, dawn would soon break, and standing on the open ground near the Floral Sunshine Resort Hotel, she would be bathed in the first light of dawn, reverting to her original form.

At that point, the illusion before her would likely dissipate.

So, to avoid any mishaps, she had to memorize everything her ancestor taught her in this short time.

Though sometimes her mind wasn’t the sharpest, she was confident in her learning ability. Otherwise, she wouldn’t have been able to breeze through schoolwork and use high test scores as a shield against punishment while causing trouble in the neighborhood as a child.

What can’t I learn? .jpg

Resolutely, Lu Yibei thought, watching Qing Ji complete a set of sword techniques. She raised her head and called out, “Please, ancestor, one more time!”

Suspended in the sky, Qing Ji glanced at Lu Yibei with a light laugh, “Sure, no problem!”

For a long time.

“Again, one more time…”

“Alright!”

……

Lu Yibei watched the figure weaving through the clouds, her eyes capturing every move through the mist, her mind racing, recording those fluid movements like a video.

Again and again, and again…

After the sword techniques, came the spell formations.

All spell formations, despite their variations, fundamentally rely on the power of words to resonate one’s psychic energy with the world’s, calling upon the world’s energy to create small miracles by mimicking nature’s grand phenomena.

Qing Ji’s spell formations seemed simple, with incantations even shorter than those Lu Yibei deciphered from the Great Serpent God’s memories or learned from The Midnight Watchers Society.

Yet, these overly simplified incantations, like mysterious codes from detailed descriptions, could achieve effects comparable to normal spell formations.

Lu Yibei, “……”

This…

I really can’t learn or remember them in a short time.

She tried hard to memorize them, but those obscure incantations seemed to exist in a different dimension, passing through her mind and floating away into the void, vanishing without a trace.

Seeing Qing Ji’s figure growing fainter in the sky, Lu Yibei grew anxious, cursing under her breath.

“Damn it, if only there were something like a portable hard drive to download them for later understanding!”

As soon as she finished speaking, the air behind her rippled like a distortion in space-time, and a figure slowly emerged, sitting beside her.

A petite figure with pink-white hair, a delicate face with rosy lips and white teeth, wrapped in a loose yellow-black tactical jacket, today’s mascot girl seemed particularly vibrant.

“Hey, long time no see!” the mysterious girl patted Lu Yibei’s shoulder.

Lu Yibei, eyes fixed on Qing Ji’s figure in the sky, pushed the mysterious girl’s hand away, “Don’t bother me, I’m busy!”

“I know! That’s why I took time out of my busy schedule to offer you a solution,” the mysterious girl said.

“Busy schedule? What could an NPC possibly be busy with?” Lu Yibei retorted.

The mysterious girl shifted, sitting cross-legged in front of Lu Yibei, pouting, “What if I told you I was busy destroying the world, would you believe me?”

“You? If you can destroy the world, I can save it!” Lu Yibei replied expressionlessly.

“Ambitious, but…” the mysterious girl’s tone suddenly turned serious, “saving is much harder than destroying. Are you sure you want to do that?”

“……”

Lu Yibei was taken aback by the girl’s sudden change, momentarily forgetting to continue learning from Qing Ji, staring blankly at her, unsure of what to say.

“Look at you, scared. I was just joking!” the girl said, rolling her eyes, then looked up at the sky, continuing, “It’s an original spell formation, huh? Really hard to learn. You’ve already learned a lot today; your brain probably can’t handle more. Continuing would be futile.”

“Then what should I do! Am I supposed to let the Lu Family’s legacy end?”

“Legacy?” the girl mused, nodding seriously, “If you’re really that concerned, why not have a child sooner?”

Lu Yibei looked down at her stomach, then at the girl, her face darkening, “I can’t have children, I’m sorry.”

“I’m not asking you to have one. Didn’t I tell you to sleep with Jiang Li? Did you do it?”

Lu Yibei, “……”

Where did this pervert come from?

For the record, I’m not that familiar with her!

“Never mind, let’s get to the point.” Seeing Lu Yibei silent for a long time, the girl pointed to the ever-changing figure in the sky, “Even if you can’t learn anymore, why not let your direct familiar learn? If she learns, it’s like you learning, right?”

“Wait…” Lu Yibei was stunned, “Familiars can be used like that? Wouldn’t that make them pawns?”

The girl rolled her eyes, “What else?”

“Unless it’s an unequal contract, familiars are usually well-fed and protected, given equipment, like raising a small account.”

“If there’s no benefit, why raise so many familiars? For their looks, their childbearing hips, their skills? Of course, it’s for their…”

Lu Yibei glanced at the girl beside her, speaking softly, “You seem to know a lot? Done this kind of shameless thing many times, huh?”

Lu Yibei was about sixty percent sure this mysterious girl was some kind of doppelgänger of hers.

But hearing the girl’s lecherous words, like she had swallowed a Gou Meng, Lu Yibei suddenly wasn’t so sure.

How could I possibly harm innocent girls?

“Ahem!” The mysterious girl cleared her throat, a bit embarrassed, waving her hand to change the subject, “That’s not the point. The point is how you can use your familiar to bear the burden of learning all this knowledge.”

“……” Lu Yibei pondered for a moment, then asked seriously, “Does this require sacrificing life force?”

“It won’t! I know you well. We don’t recommend life-draining packages here, dear!” the girl waved her hand dismissively.

“That’s great!” Lu Yibei was overjoyed, “Let’s talk about how to freeload off Du Sixian then?”

The girl sighed, rubbing her forehead, “Why is it always Du Sixian? Don’t you have other familiars?”

I’ve been earnestly recommending familiars to you, do you know why? Have you been listening and seeking them out?”

Lu Yibei thought back over her recent actions, patiently explaining, “No!”

“Then what have you been busy with?!”

“Surviving?” Lu Yibei whispered.

The girl twitched, patting Lu Yibei’s shoulder, praising, “As expected of the woman I… uh, I admire, well done!”

“Let me tell you, familiars are very useful…”

“In what way?” Lu Yibei interrupted.

“In every sense of the word,” the girl smiled meaningfully, “But this beginner’s tutorial is mainly about sharing psychic abilities.”

“How do I use Du Sixian then?” Lu Yibei asked, “Uh, in terms of psychic abilities…”

The girl turned towards the direction where Du Sixian often appeared, pointing with her hand.

“It’s simple, just confirm her location and call her name loudly, while transmitting the content that flashes through your mind as you learn, through your thoughts…”

“Du Sixian! Du Sixian! Time to wake up and pee!”

Before the girl could finish, Lu Yibei shouted at the direction where Du Sixian was.

“Du Sixian! Du Sixian! Your video has hit a million views!”

“Du Sixian! Du Sixian! Your tenant isn’t paying rent!”

……

Lu Yibei, usually annoyed by Du Sixian, finally found a chance to retaliate!

“……”

The girl stood behind Lu Yibei, arms crossed, head tilted, watching her in silence.

Is that Du Sixian really her familiar?

Why do I feel like she wants to kill Du Sixian?

Hopefully, nothing goes wrong, like back then…

A sweet-smiling girl flashed through the girl’s mind, a smile like a sunflower blooming under bright sunlight, piercing her heart.

That girl was the only familiar she hadn’t recommended to Lu Yibei…

Mudan Street, Sixian Inn.

Du Sixian had been making slow progress in spell formation practice lately.

Ever since she finished learning the basic spell formations and started attempting precision spell formations, she felt her memory had declined, like a fish with only a seven-second memory, possibly due to the influence of the Mei Ziheng Fish spiritual patterns.

It made her doubt whether An Qing was just comforting her.

Maybe she wasn’t really an “underdog genius.”

Recently, even the strange dream had appeared less frequently, and when it did, she no longer saw the deity-like figure in it.

“Maybe…” Du Sixian stared blankly at the ceiling, hesitating for a long time before sighing and muttering to herself, “Ugh, I’m so useless, apart from collecting rent, I’m good for nothing!”

“Forget it, sleep! Judging by the dates, I should go collect rent tomorrow!”

Grumbling, she hugged her cushion, turned over, and closed her eyes.

“Rumble-rumble-rumble-!”

Amidst the deafening sound of a train passing over tracks, Du Sixian suddenly woke up.

She opened her eyes, looking around in confusion.

It was an old, worn-out subway train, with rust covering the handrails and window sills. The carriage was empty, not a soul in sight, and the overhead lights flickered like they had a loose connection.

Glancing around, Du Sixian quickly recognized that this subway was almost identical to Hua City’s, though inexplicably eroded by time.

Outside the familiar, desolate city lay in eerie silence.

Only dust fell silently from the sky, dancing in the sunlight.

“So it’s this strange dream again?”

Realizing she had entered this peculiar dream once more, Du Sixian felt slightly relieved, leaning back in her seat, gazing out the window, admiring the city that seemed on the brink of death.

For a long time, a faint hymn, like a gentle knock in the vast night, grew stronger.

It was as if fate.

Fate was gently knocking on the door.

In an instant, countless horrifying scenes flooded Du Sixian’s mind, her eyes gradually losing focus.

Meteors falling, floods raging, hurricanes sweeping, waves surging, tens of thousands of soldiers wielding weapons, battling fiercely in the wilderness…

Outside the window, time seemed to accelerate, swiftly passing.

In a moment, it shifted from noon to evening, the clouds in the sky tinged with the rosy glow of sunset.

Simultaneously, the terrifying scenes before Du Sixian vanished, a sound of shattering echoed,

Like a long nightmare finally coming to an end.

“Ah-!”

Du Sixian screamed, waking up in bed, her sheets soaked with fragrant sweat, her chest heaving as she panted heavily.

Once she caught her breath, she sat up, staring at her hands, lost in thought.

Like an illusion, she felt she had learned those daunting precision spell formations.

On the ruins of the Floral Sunshine Resort Hotel, a cool autumn breeze meandered.

After a long time, the sun slowly rose.

The rising sun spread its light, illuminating the crime scene from months ago.

The major suspect returning to the scene sat up from a pile of blackened grass ash, gazing towards the direction of the rising sun.

A figure with a long sword on his back, clad in a black robe, briefly appeared in the sunlight, then quickly vanished.

The young man who once roamed the world alone during turbulent times appeared briefly in Lu Yibei’s life, then quickly disappeared…

“Granddaughter-in-law, do you know where my son Yuebo’s grave is? I’d like to visit.”

Hearing the voice suddenly coming from the Broken Sword in his hand, Lu Yibei was startled.

Oh no, why hasn’t he disappeared yet?

Crap, will the ancestor think I have some weird fetish, coming to seduce his grandson?

“Granddaughter-in-law?”

Lu Yibei, “……”

He seems unable to see my current form?

“Granddaughter-in-law, are you still there? Say something!”

Lu Yibei glanced at the buzzing Broken Sword in his hand, silently pulled out a plastic sheet from the guitar case, wrapped the Broken Sword layer by layer, then closed the guitar case with a “thud.”

“Mm… mm…”

Listening to the faint sounds coming from the guitar case, Lu Yibei nodded in satisfaction.

Lu Yibei walked back to Hua City from the Floral Sunshine Resort Hotel with the guitar case on his back.

A full twenty-four kilometers, with no taxis or ride-hailing drivers willing to pick him up.

He tried reporting the drivers for refusal, but it was useless.

In a place like the Floral Sunshine Resort Hotel, in the entire Hua City, the number of drivers willing to pick up passengers could be counted on one hand, besides Uncle Zhang Shan.

For someone who almost failed the thousand-meter run in college entrance physical tests, it was nearly life-threatening.

When he saw the first bus stop and a convenience store by the roadside, it was already noon.

He bought a bottle of soda, sat at the bus stop, enjoying it while waiting for the bus. Just then, his phone vibrated twice, and the instigator of his exhaustion sent a message.

Genius Mahjong Girl: “When will you be back? [heart emoji]”

Wang Buliuxing: “After dark. [dog tongue emoji]”

Genius Mahjong Girl: “That works, but you better hurry back.”

Genius Mahjong Girl: “The Xingfu Community’s property management somehow rented out all the vacant houses due to someone’s passing, and the welcome party’s moved to Friday night, everyone’s coming.”

Wang Buliuxing: “Okay, I’ll hurry.”

Putting down his phone, Lu Yibei’s gaze sharpened.

It’s time!

Now that I have the artifact for the Xingfu Community haunting, my chances of success are around ninety percent. I can attempt to proceed cautiously. Lu Yibei thought.